Improving the Quality of Student Writing

Putting It All Together

Having the Write Stuff

Lucy McCormick CalkinsThe Art of Teaching Writing

Writing begins with a leap of faith, with a decision to make meaning from a chosen thread, and the truth of the matter is that anything can start us on the road to significance.

The Writing Process• Purpose Why are we writing?

»to take notes»to convey information»to correspond with others»to record experiences

• Audience Who will the readers be?What do they need to know?What is their point of reference?

• Message What do we want to say?

The Writing Process Continued

• Construction- constantly adding details and remembering the message

• Editing and revising- rereading, reflecting and evaluating

• Layout- using visual conventions

Writing challenges children to actively think about print.

Phase 1Pre-Emergent

• Children are experimenting with marks on paper to make connections between spoken and written language. They scribble and make marks on paper as they try to copy adult writing and try to communicate a message.

Phase 2Emergent Writing

• Children know that speech can be written down.

• They know that print carries a message.

• They understand that print goes from left to right and top to bottom.

• They experiment with writing letters and words and combinations of the two.

Phrase 3Developing Writing

• Children write about things that are important to them.

• They are beginning to write for other people

• They know what they want to write and struggle to put it on paper.

• If they concentrate too much on one aspect (ex. form or neatness) they may “lose” what they want to say.

Phase 4Fluent Writing

• Writers know most of the basic elements of the writing process.

• They are able to choose different types of writing to suit different purposes.

Phase 5Proficient Writing

• Writers have developed a personal style.

• They can adapt text for different audiences.

• They have control over spelling and punctuation.

• They select appropriate words from a wide vocabulary.

Why Do We Use Writing Rubrics?

• to clarify our own expectations (standards alignment)

• to communicate our expectations to students

• to create more consistent evaluation of student learning

• to inform our teaching and planning of instructional strategies

Self- Assessment

Questions about my writing:• Do I have a catchy lead?• Did I stick to my topic and support it with details?• Do I have a beginning, middle and end?• Did I use interesting words and sentences?• Does my spelling, capitalization, and punctuation

make it easy for the reader to understand?

How Does MLPP Assessment Inform Instructional Planning

• What knowledge and skills are reflected in the students writing?

• What challenges does the student face?• What areas does he/she need to develop more

fully?• What interventions or supports would assist this

student in meeting his/her challenges?• What can the teacher do to help the student grow

as a writer?

Attributes in Writing

• Idea Development (Content)– Knowing what I want to say– Focusing on the main point– Adding important details– Identifying the purpose

Attributes

• Organization– Putting things in order– Writing a lead– Writing a conclusion– Linking ideas together

Attributes

• Voice/Style– Putting yourself in your writing– Thinking of your audience– Linking your topic and letting it show– Matching voice to purpose

Attributes

• Word Choice– Painting pictures with words– Finding the right words– Avoiding fluff (nice, good)– Favoring strong verbs

Planning Instruction: Using Writer’s Workshop

• Prewriting

• Drafting

• Revising

• Editing

• Publishing

Prewriting

The teachers should:• Provide background knowledge about topics• Allow students to participate in decisions/choices

about a topic• Provide time for students to gather information

and details• Define project clearly and explain assessment

criteria.

DraftingThe teacher should:• Teach students how to draft (model)• Provide support, encouragement and feedback• Emphasize content over mechanics• Encourage students to cycle back to prewriting to gather

more ideas when needed• Circulate and conference at each desk reminding

students to reread, while focusing on their strengths and advising them of their needs and plan mini-lessons from observations.

Revising

The teacher should: • Organize writing groups after mini-lessons• Teach students how to function in writing groups

using constructive discussions• Participate in the groups as a listener and an

advisor, providing feedback• Encourage students to listen to suggestions and

make some revisions (Using “legs”)!!!

EditingTeachers should:• Teach students how to “buddy edit”• Prepare editing checklists for students• Assist students with locating and correcting

mechanical errors• Diagnose student errors and provide appropriate

instruction• Correct the remaining errors for each student

Publishing

• Encourage students to create illustrations when they are finished or hire an illustrator

• The teacher can arrange for finished products to be typed on computers or put into book covers

• Organize an Author’s Day Celebration, a Writer’s Day Tea or a Writer’s Field Day

Model

Examples ofGood writing

Examples of How to write

Support Feedback

Time Choice

Promoting Effective Writing

Connecting Reading and Writing

• Reader Response is a natural link between reading and writing.

• Any story encountered by children can be linked to a piece of shared, interactive or independent writing.

• Books read aloud become a strong foundation for interactive and independent writing.Fountas and Pinnell(2000)

Writers NotebookGathering Seeds

• Interesting things we see• Snippets of dialogue or conversations• Quotations from music, literature, films,

pop culture, etc.• Setting ideas from places we have been• Family stories we know• Character ideas from interesting peopleWhat you Know by Heart, Katie Wood Ray

Reviser’s Checklist

• Do I like the lead, or can I find a better one?

• Where can I use “binoculars”?

• Can I insert a “snapshot”?

• Should I “explode a moment”?

• How do I “shrink time”?

• Do I need to build a scene?Taken from Barry Lane Reviser’s Toolbox

Mini Lessons that Use Literature to Develop Writing Strategies

• Strong leads are like a magic flashlight• Zoom in “binoculars” look for details• “Snapshots” use the senses to paint a picture• “Thoughtshots” go inside the head• “Explode a Moment” revisit/relive/stretch• Create a scene,

(snapshot+thoughtshot+dialogue)